New report by Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) Documenting On-going Human Rights Abuses in Burma

ND-Burma has published its periodic report covering the first half of 2014, focusing on 103 documented cases of human rights violations in Burma from January to June, 2014. There are many serious human rights issues highlighted in this report: torture, extra-judicial killing, illegal arrests and detentions, arbitrary taxation, property crime, forced labor, human trafficking, forced displacement and rape […]

Burma: Drop Charges Against Peaceful Protesters

End Protest Denials; Amend Law on Assembly for International Standards

Authorities in Burma should drop charges against activists who participated in peaceful protests against government policies, Human Rights Watch said today. Nine peace activists now face criminal charges for demonstrating in Rangoon without a permit on September 21, 2012, International Peace Day. Anti-mining protesters and land rights activists elsewhere in Burma have also been subject to intimidation and prosecution […]

Officials Press Charges Against ‘Electricity Protestors’

Activists who joined the widespread protests calling for sufficient electricity supplies in Mandalay in May have been charged by the city’s police for demonstrating without official permission.

Following frequent power cuts during the hot season, protests kicked off in Mandalay on 20 May and eventually spread throughout the country to Rangoon, Monywa and Prome […]

Protests Demanding Increased Power Supply Illustrates Burma’s Unpreparedness for Influx of Foreign Investment

Last week saw various inspiring actions bravely undertaken by the people against injustice and the government’s irresponsibility in fulfilling their daily needs such as electricity. There were actions against land confiscations, low wages, violations of labor rights, and, largest of all, against the significant shortage of power in various areas across Burma.

During the past few weeks there have been worker strikes in as many as 20 different factories. These include the 25 people on hunger strike that continued into its second day on Saturday at Yangon Crown Steel factory in Hmawbi, Yangon Division, where almost 400 workers have been on strike since May 20. Despite the number of worker strikes, only a few have had successful negotiations with factory owners. Many have suggested that this is due to the lack of a government policy outlining a minimum wage and laws that protect the rights of workers. This is a reminder again of how the government is unprepared to accommodate foreign investment and manage the type of development it will bring […]

New Law on Demonstrations Falls Short

Burma’s new law on the right to peaceful assembly falls far short of international standards, Human Rights Watch said today. President Thein Sein signed the assembly law, the Law Relating to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession […]